Friday, January 6, 2012

A very "Traded" mailday (plus liquorfractors and photo albums!)

For the first time in a while, I had a few things I was really excited about coming in the mail.

By some amount of good fortune, I received both of them today. The first was a trade I made on "The Bench", in which I dealt some 2011 A&G SPs for some miscellaneous stuff.

The second package contained about 100 Score and Topps Traded/Fleer Tradition Update cards I bought. I'll call it my Christmas present to myself.

I'll start out with the trade I made. Enjoy!

I'd traded for these thinking they were going to be cards, but they're actually large photos from the 1976 Dodgers Photo Album. They're still awesome. I'd like to see if I can fit these into a frame to hang in my room.

From top to bottom: Al Downing, Davey Lopes, Burt Hooton, and Don Sutton.

In sticking with the Dodgers theme, I also traded for a couple of the "1952 World Series" inserts from 2002 Topps. That Dodgers lineup was truly one to be fearful of.

Yes, I actually traded for a card of "Wee Man". It's a 2011 A&G mini, so I guess it's a "wee card" of "Wee Man".

Ah yes, the liquorfractor. My scanner does a great job with these.

Sean Burroughs is the poor man's Josh Hamilton. He was also a former first-round pick (in '98) that fell into drug and alcohol problems after his major league career didn't pan out. He hadn't played a game since 2006 when he signed a minor-league contract with the D'Backs for the 2011 season.

He eventually made it back to the bigs, the makings of one of the best stories of the 2011 season. I had the good fortune to see Burroughs in person when I took a trip up to Milwaukee to see a Brewers-D'Backs game last summer.

Okay, now onto my big purchase. I bought about 100 Traded/Update cards from 1982-2000 for about $13 all together. This is one of the best finds I've come across lately, as I can never seem to find these Traded cards anywhere. They're great for my "short-term stops" collection (guys who were only in a certain uniform for a short period of time).

I believe that they were only issued in box sets up until the late-'90s, no packs (any info?).

It's tough to imagine Davey Lopes in a "Swingin' A's" uniform. But that's exactly what we have here. I'd imagine 1982 was the death rattle of those uniforms. I can't imagine they made it far past that.

1983 Drake's.

These are surprisingly very nice cards. They did their best to try and fit Yaz's signature in without it interfering with the picture, but they just couldn't do it.

Personally, I love those '80s Expos uniforms. The hats, though, are a different story. All they're missing is the little helicopter for the top.

1984 Topps Traded.

I'm wondering if Topps put Gary Matthews in front of a green screen and simply forgot to put an image behind him when production time came. Or maybe Matthews is praying to get out of Chicago. I don't know.

Amos Otis was a Pirate. Who knew?

I've been looking for this '84 Traded Pete Rose for a long, long time. After years of searching, I've finally got it.

Few things in the hobby feel better than that.

Tom Seaver making his cardboard debut in the "softball" Sox uniforms of the 1980's. Everyone thought he was done after the '83 season, but he showed them by winning 31 games over the next two years.

1987 Topps Traded.

I'm not sure what Joe Niekro is doing in that picture. It looks like he's got to go to the bathroom. Or maybe he's practicing his skills as a catcher. I don't know.

A nice in-action shot of Bill Madlock in his later years. The Tigers would be his last team, as he'd retire after the 1987 season.

1989 Scoremasters.

A few of the cards I bought weren't Traded or Update cards, like these.

These are really nice considering they're from the junk wax era. Those are portraits of Mark Grace and Julio Franco in after-swing mode.

Future "Gems of Junk Wax" subjects, perhaps?

1989 Score Rookie/Traded.

"Goose" pitched in 46 games for the Cubs in '89. I was surprised to find out that he didn't hang 'em up until 1994 with the Mariners.

1989 Topps Traded.

"The Wild Thing" with a horrendous neck beard. His minor league stats are amazing. At Salem in 1985, Williams walked 117 hitters and struck out 138. In 99 innings.

I refuse to believe that Kent Tekulve was ever a Red. Really? (He'd pitch the final year of his career in '89 as a Red.)

Mitch Williams.

I recently decided to start collecting Mitch Williams for reasons I'm not entirely sure of. He reminds me of Kenny Powers on "Eastbound and Down" for anyone who has seen that show. Plus, I love him on the MLB Network (although I can understand why some people wouldn't).

1991 Topps Traded.

The Dave Parker is another one I've wanted for a while. I knew Parker played on the Blue Jays and the Angels in his final year, but I had given up finding a card of him on either team. I finally found one of him as an Angel. Maybe there's still one floating out there of him as a Blue Jay.

Not the most flattering picture of Kirk Gibson, just three years removed from his famous World Series homer.

1999 Fleer Tradition Update.

I personally love this set. However, I can never seem to come across any of them in dime boxes or card shows anywhere. This shot of Jose Molina is a great one. It almost looks like he's levitating the ball with his mind.

Here's rookie cards of Joe Nathan and Rick Ankiel. Both of their careers have dramatically changed since 1999.

Joe Nathan was originally a starting pitcher for the Giants. After a couple mediocre years starting, he went on to become a wildly successful closer for the Twins.

This Ankiel card was the most expensive card of the bunch, priced at $2. Ankiel's story is a famous one. A can't-miss pitcher suddenly loses his control, only to come back a few years later as a power-hitting outfielder. Ankiel hit a homer in his first game as a position player in 2007. It was definitely one of the most amazing things I've ever witnessed on a baseball field.

Last but not least, 2000 Topps Traded.

A couple Tigers. One starting the beginning of his career and one whose career wasn't looking good at the time.

Brandon Inge was a second-round pick by Detroit in '98. He'd start off his career as a catcher, but would convert to third base around '04 or '05. Things haven't looked good for Inge lately, but I'm rooting for him.

Hideo Nomo played for the Tigers for one year, in 2000. He'd post an 8-12 record and a 4.74 ERA.